Run n’ gun platformer Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 is out today

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As a lifelong fan of the Metal Slug series (even the post-SNK ones), I’m not entirely sure how the Guns, Gore & Cannoli games have managed to escape my attention for so long. Aside from some slightly offputting tweened animations, it features everything I know and love about the classic platform run & gun series. Still, something vital seems missing…

Oh yes, Nazis, or at least Metal Slug’s pseudo-Nazis. Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 – out now – looks like it addresses the one issue truly holding it back. Now you can gun down gangsters, undead and the minions of the Third Reich in equal measure.

To be fair, this isn’t entirely authentic to Metal Slug (that particular Contra-like itch will likely next be scratched by Joymasher’s Blazing Chrome), owing to its slightly more open levels, twin-stick/mouse-friendly aiming and health bars. Still, the trailer above does contain a pleasantly familiar blend of explosions, highly expendable enemy grunts and super-science experiments to break into much smaller, often meatier component parts.

The original game was well received, currently holding a respectably high user-score on Steam, as well as a brace of pleasingly positive reviews from more professional outfits. Some complaints leveled at the original were performance issues and sometimes overly-fiddly controls, and if Steam reviews for the sequel are any indication, those have been cleaned up.

It also supports co-op for up to 4 players online, and local play (although possibly not for a full four), which probably explains the presence of health bars; it’d be too anarchic to have one hit kills. I also notice that some of the alternative multiplayer characters look a little familiar, with one in particular looking uncannily like Bruce Willis circa Die Hard, barefoot and everything. Clearly wrong year aside, it probably makes for a better story than Die Hard 5.